The 3C-like protease (3CLpro) or Mpro, formally known as C30 Endopeptidase, is the main protease found in coronaviruses. It cleaves the coronavirus polyprotein at eleven conserved sites. It is a cysteine protease and a member of the PA clan of proteases. It has a cysteine-histidine catalytic dyad at its active site and cleaves a Gln–(Ser/Ala/Gly) peptide bond.
The protease 3CLpro is a potential drug target for coronavirus infections due to its essential role in processing the polyproteins that are translated from the viral RNA. The X-ray structures of the unliganded SARS-CoV-2 protease 3CLpro and its complex with an α-ketoamide inhibitor provides a basis for design of α-ketoamide inhibitors for a treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this project, I'm going to explore the ChEMBL database and analyse data related to SARS coronavirus 3C-like proteinase.